The week ahead for traffic and transit

It's not exactly September Shock, but travelers should see something of a surge this week as people begin to return from their December vacations and schools reopen. Here are some of the road and rail conditions to watch for.

Tunnel Cleaning
Monday through Thursday between the rush hours, DDOT crews will be cleaning several tunnels and ramps around and under the National Mall, requiring single lane and double lane closings. Traffic delays are likely.

Night maintenance on Metro
Metro will be doing track work Sunday through Thursday nights during January, which will increase travel times where trains share a single track to get around the work. (The schedule is subject to change each night.)
-- Red Line riders between Medical Center and Grosvenor should add at least 20 minutes from 8 p.m. through the midnight closing.
-- Blue Line riders between Stadium-Armory and Addison Road should add at least half an hour to their travel time from 9:30 p.m. through closing.

Kenilworth Avenue/295
The District Department of Transportation plans to begin installing new utility lines in the right lanes on both sides of Kenilworth Avenue at Eastern Avenue NE. There will be temporary lane closures and restrictions between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., which could result in traffic delays. The work is scheduled to be done by Feb. 5. Crews will start on the northbound side and then move to the southbound side.

Virginia megaprojects
-- Bridge construction along the western side of the Capital Beltway will cause overnight detours at Arlington Blvd. (Route 50), Lee Highway (Route 29) and Braddock Road (Route 620).
-- The Braddock Road east ramp to the Beltway's outer loop is scheduled to close this coming weekend.
-- Dulles Metrorail tunnel construction continues at Routes 123 and 7.

Fixing NY Avenue
Preliminary construction has begun on the New York Avenue Bridge over the railroad tracks. Workers will be demolishing and removing the center median of the bridge. Temporary lane closings will be necessary.

During off-peak hours, two lanes rather than the usual three will be available for inbound and outbound New York Avenue traffic, between Florida Avenue and Penn Street NE. During the morning and evening rush hours, all of the travel lanes will be open for traffic in both directions.

Pennsylvania Ave. project starting
The District Department of Transportation is starting construction on the Pennsylvania Avenue SE Great Streets project. The reconstruction work will occur along two miles between 27th Street and Southern Avenue. The first five months of the project will require only temporary, single-lane closures. The work hours during this phase will be 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. After that, the project will need to close some lanes around the clock.

Dulles Toll Road
Rates increaseed by 25 cents at the main toll plaza and 25 cents at the ramps. That means drivers now pay $1 at the main plaza and 75 cents at the ramps.